On August 21 four Vanderbilt University football players pleaded not guilty to raping an unconscious female student in a dorm room earlier in the summer. The university followed proper procedure for a case such as this and removed the four from the football team as well as expelled them from the university. However, one of the players quickly found that another university was quite willing to let him play football for them.

Authorities eventually came to believe Vandenburg had intercourse with the Oklahoma woman while she was unconscious, while three other football players said to have been in room at some point in the night were charged as well.

Transfer Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie saw his first action as a Brave on kickoff return recording 80 yards on three returns. McKenzie is a transfer from Vanderbilt University.

Was McKenzie’s exclusion from the roster a mistake, or was it an attempt to avoid drawing attention to Alcorn State’s new player and the charges against him? Less than a day after the Nashville Post story was published, USAToday.com reported that McKenzie had been kicked off the Alcorn State team. University president M. Christopher Brown II said in a statement

Alcorn failed to sufficiently examine the allegations against McKenzie before allowing him to participate in our football program. In an effort to provide educational opportunities to a southwest Mississippi student, Alcorn State University made an error in judgment.

If I ever find anything or if I can get any proof that he is guilty, he will be suspended from our football team. From everything I’ve gotten, from every resource, this kid is 100 percent innocent.

This case illustrates at least a couple of disturbing problems about sports, athletes, and the attitudes of society regarding them. First, as ThinkProgress points out, this case is eerily reminiscent of the Steubenville, Ohio high school rape case, which says that this sort of event may be taking place much more than anyone would like to acknowledge, given that rape in general is an underreported crime. Second, it shows the lengths to which some coaches and schools are willing to go in order to try to win, also showing in the process the lack of concern those coaches and schools have for developing athletes who are also good citizens.

For the record, Mississippi State beat Alcorn State in McKenzie’s one and only game by a score of 51-7.

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Author: Wes Williams
Wes Williams is a lifelong political junkie, stuck in the red end of blue Delaware, where he lives near the beaches with his wife of 33 years and three cats. While politics of all sorts are his passion, he is particularly interested in issues involving labor, education, and the justice system.
Follow Wes on Twitter at @WesWilliams_AI or on his Facebook page, LeftOfLiberal.